With a pragmatic approach to his profession and a straightforward attitude, actor Emraan Hashmi says a lasting career in the entertainment industry involves keeping one’s bearings in place, being grounded and learning constantly.

Hashmi, who has spent 18 years in the industry, says, “It is never about the goalpost, not about the outcome of the journey; the relationships with people in the industry is what makes it worth. If you think only about the outcome, you won’t last long. There will be highs and lows, and they can dissuade you as an artiste. But you have to cling on to the passion for acting, which is what you came to the industry for. You can’t lose that. The hits are by-products and you have to enjoy the process to stick around for a long time. The love of performance and moulding a character is what should drive you.”

The Mumbai Saga actor asserts that one’s focus should be on the craft and the process; the rest of it is just noise. “What happens is with the world looking at you, one tends to focus on other things as an actor. I have seen a world without social media, and it becomes tougher for me as I have to adapt. One has to insulate oneself from social media as you can fall prey to the praise or the trolling. That can destroy your psyche just as easily. It is a hyper critical world out there right now. Everyone has an opinion about filmmaking and performances. You have to be true to yourself and your love for the craft,” says the 42-year-old.

He credits his family for his realistic approach to his career. For him, acting is a “job”, and he realised right at the beginning, that if you are not clear about who you are and where you stand, it is very easy to get swayed. “When you are an actor, it is easy to get carried away by the things people tell you. Your fate here changes every Friday — one day you could be a star and the next day, you might not have ample work. Staying pragmatic and stoic is the only way to survive here,” he says, adding, “This is who I am. This is who I have always been. To those who did not know me, I came across as cold and arrogant. I am anything but arrogant. It is just that I talk less. I am inherently an introvert.”